Saying Good-bye
by suzie2b
Summary: Tully gets bad news from home.


**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Author's note: Granma Milly was mentioned in my story "Full Disclosure."**

 **Saying Good-bye**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **Tully picked up the mail and went outside. He leaned against a wall in the shade to read the letter from his mother. As he read the first short paragraph, his smile faded. He felt himself begin to shake and let himself slide down the stone wall into a squat. His heart began to race as he read further.**

 **##################**

 **Charley left headquarters expecting to meet Tully for lunch. She looked around, but didn't see him anywhere. She shrugged, figuring he must be running late and decided to wait. Thirty minutes later Charley sighed and headed for the mess hall alone.**

 **She sat down with her spam sandwich and an apple hoping Tully would show up, but he didn't. However, Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch did.**

 **Moffitt smiled as they walked over to the table. "Mind if we join you, Charley?"**

 **She smiled and said, "Please do."**

 **As they sat down, Hitch asked, "Where's Tully? He was looking forward to having lunch with you."**

 **Charley sighed. "I waited a half-hour outside headquarters for him, but he didn't show up."**

 **Moffitt said, "That's not like him."**

" **No, it's not."**

 **Troy asked, "Are you worried?"**

 **Charley smiled slightly. "A little disappointed, but not worried. He probably got started on some project and lost track of time."**

 **Hitch mentioned, "After we restocked and gassed up the jeeps, Tully said he was going to mail call before meeting you."**

 **Just then fellow volunteer Terrence Colby arrived in the mess hall. He looked around until he spotted Charley and walked over to the table. "Hi, Charley. Sorry to interrupt."**

" **That's okay, Terrence. What's going on?"**

" **A guy showed up at the office a few minutes ago with these." Terrence handed the mail to her and continued, "He said he found them just lying on the sidewalk and there wasn't anyone around. He didn't know what else to do with them, so he brought them to headquarters."**

 **Charley noticed the unopened envelope was addressed to her from her Aunt Emily. "Thanks. I appreciate you bringing these to me."**

 **Terrence smiled. "No problem. I'll see you at work tomorrow then."**

 **As the young man walked away, Charley looked at the opened envelope addressed to Tully. She extracted to letter inside and began to read it.**

 **Moffitt said, "I wonder how Tully somehow managed to drop those. He's usually more careful…"**

 **Charley gasped quietly, "Oh no."**

 **Troy asked, "Something wrong?"**

" **It's Tully's Grandma Milly. She passed away unexpectedly nearly three weeks ago."**

 **Moffitt said, "That explains why the letters were found like they were. He probably didn't realize he dropped them. Tully must be devastated."**

 **Charley stood up. "Please excuse me. I need to know if he's at home."**

 **Troy said, "And if he's not?"**

" **I'll have to look for him."**

 **Hitch stood up next to her and said, "I'll go along. If Tully's not at the apartment, I'll help look for him."**

 **Moffitt nodded. "We'll all go."**

 **When they arrived at the small apartment Charley and Tully called home, there was no sign that he'd been there since that morning. Now Charley began to worry. "Where would he go?"**

 **Moffitt said, "Any number of places depending on whether or not he wants to be alone."**

 **Troy added, "And if he wants to be alone, it won't be easy to find him."**

" **Charley, you stay here in case Tully shows up. We'll take a look around."**

" **With or without him we'll be back in two hours."**

 **##################**

 **Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch fanned out and checked the places Tully was known to frequent with and without Charley.**

 **When they met up again, they were empty handed, but Hitch had news. "The barkeep at the Sunny Side Up said Tully showed up hours ago and started downing shots of whiskey."**

 **Troy said, "How long was he there?"**

" **Until they had to kick him out for threatening to bust the place up. He bought a fifth of whiskey and left. Barkeep said he was pretty drunk by then."**

 **Troy sighed, feeling somewhat disgusted. "And they just let him go?"**

 **Moffitt looked at his watch and said, "We'd better start back to the apartment. With luck we'll find him along the way."**

 **Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch were hurrying along the main street when they heard a commotion at the supply depot. They looked at each other and headed in that direction.**

 **They pushed through the crowd that had gathered in the alley and found Tully with an axe breaking up empty pallets that sat behind the supply depot. Splinters of wood flew in every direction with each hard swing of the axe. Tully stumbled and stopped to catch his breath, reaching for the half empty bottle of whiskey sitting on the ground.**

 **Lieutenant Hill pushed through the men and asked, "What in the hell is going on here?" He saw Tully, the axe, and carnage he had wrought on the pallets. "Pettigrew!"**

 **As the crowd quickly began to disperse, Tully staggered as he turned to face the lieutenant. He took a swig from the bottle as he stood there staring silently at Hill. Troy moved to the lieutenant's side and said, "Easy, sir. I can explain."**

" **It had better be good, sergeant! I want to know why your drunken private is busting up the army's supply pallets!"**

 **Troy looked at Moffitt and Hitch. "Get that axe and bottle away from him."**

 **Moffitt and Hitch went to Tully and Moffitt took the axe from his blistered hands and said quietly, "I think it's time to go home."**

 **Hitch reached for the whiskey, but Tully pulled the bottle away and slurred, "Nope … mine."**

 **Hitch said, "Ahh, come on, Tully. Don't we share just about everything?"**

 **Tully blinked his unfocused eyes and took an unsteady step back into Moffitt. Then he handed the bottle to Hitch and said, "'Kay."**

 **Hitch took the bottle and pretended to take a drink. "Thanks, buddy."**

 **Then Tully turned to Moffitt with a mix of sweat and tears on his face and choked out, "Grams died, sarge."**

 **Moffitt put a steadying arm around him. "We know, Tully."**

" **I did'n get to say g'bye."**

 **Lieutenant Hill listened to Troy's explanation, then said, "All right. Get him outta here. Under the circumstances I won't report this to headquarters."**

 **##################**

 **Charley paced the apartment and looked at her watch for the umpteenth time. Then she heard a sound. She hurried to the opened apartment door and saw Hitch rushing down the hallway. When he saw Charley, he called out, "Need the key to the bathroom!"**

 **As Hitch quickly went back, she saw Troy and Moffitt helping Tully inside and into the bathroom just before he started retching.**

 **Troy turned and saw Charley's worried expression. He went to her and said, "He's drunk. We found him breaking up pallets with an axe behind the supply depot."**

 **Charley sighed. "Is he all right?"**

" **Well, he's got some blisters, but the real pain is going to hit him in the morning."**

 **They watched as the bathroom door opened and Moffitt helped Tully into the hallway. Then he and Hitch steadied their friend as they moved towards the apartment.**

 **Silently, they got Tully undressed and into bed, where he passed out before his head hit the pillow.**

 **Moffitt gave Charley a sympathetic smile. "Do you have aspirin?"**

 **She nodded. "Thanks for bringing him home, guys."**

 **Hitch said, "I'll come by and check on things tomorrow."**

 **After Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch left, Charley got the first aid kit from the closet. She carefully cleaned the ugly blisters on Tully's hands, put some antibiotic ointment on them, and bandaged them. He didn't move throughout the process.**

 **#################**

 **It was nearly 10am when Tully groaned and opened his eyes. The ceiling began to spin and his head was splitting. He squeezed his eyes closed, but then realized his stomach was roiling. With a lurch, Tully rolled out of bed and was out the door.**

 **Charley exited the closet when she heard the door. She went into the hallway just in time to see Tully go into the bathroom. She sighed as she shook her head and thought, "Good thing I left it unlocked."**

 **A minute later Charley went to the door and knocked softly. "You okay in there?"**

 **The door creaked slightly as Tully opened it and stood there all pale and shaky. "Sorry."**

 **Charley smiled and put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry about it. Let's get you back to bed."**

 **Once Tully was sitting up in bed and leaning on pillows, Charley sat down on the edge of the bed with aspirin and water. "Take these." She watched him take the pills with several careful sips of water. "I'm sorry about your Grandmother."**

 **Tully handed her the water glass. "Thanks. I just wish I could've said good-bye."**

 **Charley wiped a tear off his face and said softly, "You still can … when you're ready." She went to the table where she had heated some soup and tea for him. Charley put one of the chairs from the table next to the bed and set a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a mug of tea on it. "You need to get something in your stomach so it'll settle down." Tully picked up the bowl and slowly began to eat. "I hate to leave … but I have a few things at headquarters I need to take care of. Will you be all right?"**

 **Tully managed a wane smile. "I'll be fine."**

" **I shouldn't be more than a couple of hours."**

 **#################**

 **Charley hurried home. The "chores" that Major Gleason had needed her for had taken longer than expected. She quietly let herself into the apartment in case Tully was sleeping. However, he wasn't there. She went to check the bathroom, and found it empty after she knocked, but there was the telltale warm humidity that told her Tully had taken a shower.**

 **Charley went back to the apartment. She found that he'd eaten the entire can of soup and had finished the tea. As she straightened up and made the bed, Charley thought she might know where her husband was.**

 **When she got to the church she stood in front of the doors for a bit before pushing one of them open. Charley let her eyes adjust to the dimmer light before she looked around to find Tully sitting in the front row of the pews. She felt someone next to her and turned to find** **Rev. Henry Holloway.**

 **The Reverend asked quietly, "He's been here for a quite a while. He hasn't wanted to talk. Is there anything I can do?"**

 **Charley thought for a moment, then said, "Do you think you could arrange a memorial?"**

" **Of course. May I ask for whom?"**

" **Tully found out yesterday that his grandmother passed away. They were very close and he's devastated that she's gone and he couldn't say good-bye."**

 **Rev. Holloway nodded his understanding. "I'll start the arrangements immediately. You go be with him now."**

 **##################**

 **The next day Charley and Tully arrived at the church. It was to be a quiet affair. Tully set the small framed picture he had of his Grandmother next to the memorial guest book just inside the door. There were already many notes of condolences.**

 **Charley gently led Tully to the front of the church, where they sat with Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch. After Rev. Holloway said a few words and a prayer, he invited Tully up to say something.**

 **Tully stood in front of his wife, friends, comrades, and commanding officers. He wasn't sure what to say, so he started with, "I want to thank you all for coming. It means a lot to me." Then, with a sigh and a slight smile, Tully said, "I know none of you knew my Granma Milly … but I have a feeling you'll know her just fine before I'm done…"**


End file.
